Speaking panel for jails or the like



, Oct. 9, 1928.

B. W. BROCKETT SPEAKING PANEL FOR JAILS OR THE LIKE Filed Jan. 17, 1927Patented @ct. 9, 1928.

warren STATES maria PATENT O F-ice.

BLUFORD W. BROGKETT, OF CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OI-IIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE VANDORN IRON WORKS COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION 'OF OHIO.

SPEAKING PANEL FOR JAILS OR THE LIKE.

Application filed January 17, 1927. Serial No. 161,599.

The invention relates to combination vision ard conversation or speakingpanels for the V 'ting booths oi" jails or other like institutions, orindeed, for use in any place where it is desired to provide for bothvisibility through a wall and the transmission of sound therethrough,but to prevent the passage of articles through the panel, such as thepassage of tiles saws, narcotics, or like articles from visitor toprisoner in a ail, or access by a thief to the contents ofthe cashiersbooth in a bank.

The objectot the invention is to provide a very simple and inexpensiveconstruction for this purpose one in which no material obstacle ispresented to visibility or to the passage of sound, such as the voice,but in which it is impossible to pass articles through the panel, and atthe same time an arrangement which can be made and assembled at low costand withoutresort to complicated constructions, and, moreover, anarrangementwhich can be readily'adapted to any ordinary size windows inspeaking panels now in existence.

In the drawings, which represent one suitable embodiment of theinvention, Fig. 1 is a front elevation; Fig. 2 is asectional plan viewon the line 22, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail sectional plan view on alarger scale on the line 3-3, Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view ofthe wire mesh expanded and betorethe same is .bent to V-florm; Fig. 5 isan elevation, showing a modification; and Fig. 6 is a seetional planview on the line 66, Fig. 5.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the arrange-- ment there shown includes twoconversational or visiting booths of a jail, or in other words is fittedfor simultaneously carrying on two conversations, each between aprisoner and his visitor. 1 indicates parallel side walls or partitionsdividing the space into compartments paired on opposite sides ofportions of a wall 2 which separates each prisoner from his visitor.This wall is suitably formed of hardened steel plates or the like to prevent escape and at approximately head level is provided with a window orwindows to enable the prisoner and visitor to readily see each other.This is commonly and conveniently accomplished by providing a series ofsmall openings in the plate of the wall 2 in which glass windows 3 aremounted, the moldings and glass securing means being so arranged toprevent their being tampered with and the openings being of such size asto prevent escape even if the glass is broken.

According to the present invention one or more of these small windows isarranged to pern a the passage of sound therethrough. 'lhis isaccomplished by providing an opening in the glass which is filled withsuitable material arran ed to provide tortuous passages for sound waves,but to prevent in all respects the passage of articles such as tools ornarcotics through the wall. In the arrangement shown the speaking panelhas its glass pane termed in two parts or members, 3, 4:, the edgesyot'which are suitably set in the wall plates, which may be channeled orprovided with suitable moldingsor securing strips as desired. The twoglass plates are oi such thickness and width asto leave a long narrowrecess between them, the edges 0t whichare of V-shape in cross section,as

shown in Fig. 3, and are respectively convex v "and concave to matetogether if brought into contact. In the space between them is placed amass ott toraminous material, such as a fairly heavy gauge wire gauze ofopen mesh,

to the shaping of the edges of the glass members. If this metal mass ismade and tightly pressed together to closely fit in the space betweenthe glass members the openings or recesses in and around the wires ofthe gauze tarnish plenty of space for the passage or sound waves, butthe arrangement neverthe less provides no straight channels through thewall and, especially when the gauze is bent into the form shown in Fig.3, prevents'the passage of articles through the wall. Moreover, tofurther impede the passage of articles through the wall a series of thinmetal plates, say of brass or the like, marked 5 in Fig. 4, may beinserted into place between the accordion folds, or in other words maybe interleaved with the wire gauze plies. When in the courseof bendingthe mass to the storm shown in Fig. 3, these plates are edge.

bent, it is absolutely impossible to find any path through the wall forthe insertion of a thin article between plies.

Of course, the width of the metal speaking portion must not be so greatas to enable its central portion to be pushed outwardly by forceperpendicular to the wall, although it should be remembered that at topand bottom the folds of the metal gauze enter the channels or recessesof the metal wall plates and re-enforce the structure against bending,the strength being remarkably increased when the metal inserts are usedand are extended at their ends into the wall plate channels.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, which represent a modification, the glassmembers 3 and a may each be formed of two layers parted along the plane7 and each bevelled along its This provides a simple method of formingthe V-shaped configuration for the edges of the glass. To furtherprotect the glass their V-shaped edges may be protected by bronze'orother metal plates, such as indicated at 8, and having flanges extendingaround the edges of the glass as at 9.

What I claim is:

1. A speaking panel forjails or the like, comprising a plate providedwith an opening, said opening being closed by foraminous material insheet form with the sheets extending generally transversely to the planeof the plate and the edges of the sheets being pre sented to the opposedsurfaces of the plate.

2. A speaking panel for jails or the like, comprising a plate providedwith an opening, said opening being filled with parallel plies offoraminous material with their edges presented to the opposed platesurfaces, the several plies extending generally transversely to theplane of the plate.

3. A speaking panel for jails or the like, comprising a plate providedwith an opening, said opening being filled with parallel plies of.foraminous material, bent into tortuous form with their edges presentedto the opposed plate surfaces.

l. A speaking panel for jails or the like, comprising a plate providedwith an opening, said opening being filled with parallel plies offoraminous material with their edges presented to the opposed platesurfaces, the several plies extending generally transsignature.

versely to the plane of the plate, and imperforate re-enforcing sheetsinterleaved with some of said plies.

5. A speaking panel for jails or the like, comprising a plate providedwith an opening, said opening being filled with parallel plies offoraminous'materialbent into tortuous form with their edges presentedtothe opposed plate surfaces, and imperforate reenforcing sheetsinterleaved with some of said plies.

6. A speaking panel for jails or the like, comprisin a relatively thickplate provided with an opening, and foraminous material filling saidopening and extending outwardly in each direction to the surface of theplate.

7. A. speaking panel for jailsor the like, comprising a glass plateincluding two members separated by a slot, and the space between theedges of said members being filled with foraminous material.

8. A speaking panel for jails or the like, comprising a glass plateincluding two members separated by a slot, the edge of one plate beingconvex and the edge of the other plate being concave to approximatelymate with each other, and the space between the edges of said membersbeing filled with foraminous material.

S).v A speaking panel for jails or the like, comprising a glass plateincluding two members separated by a slot, the edge of one plate beingconvex and the edge of the other plate being concave to approximatelymatewith each other, and the space between the edges. of said membersbelng filled with foraminous material in sheet form, the sheets beingbent to conform to the shape' of the edges of the and forth intoparallel plies, and imperfo rate metal sheets between said'plies.

In testimony whereof I hereby affix my BLUFORD w. BROCKETT.

